Playing Catch-Up

It's been awhile again...sorry there hasn't been an update in quite some time, but Landon & I (more me than Landon) have been spending quality time Grandma!

From the last post, there was about a week left of our vacation in Florida.  We spent many afternoons with Sean, KC, Kinley & Chance!  After our initial get-together at the Children's Museum, Landon was super excited to play with the twins!  They became fast friends.

Mom & I went shopping one afternoon (without Landon) and bought Landon these new jammies.  He absolutely loved them.  I ended up searching out stores for a few more pairs. They were too good a deal to pass up!

I had a night out for a reunion of sorts with my 8th grade class from Sacred Heart.  Most of these people I hadn't seen since 8th grade, so it was great to catchup...thanks facebook!

Eventually Landon & I had to say good bye to Florida!  Mom graciously drove us back to Virginia & spent  a few days with us here.  Landon, baby Peck, & I were spoiled by the company of my mom.  Having her help, and the help of Danny & my dad while in Florida, made things a bit easier for me!  She also showered Landon & the baby with many gifts.  It's not too often that I get to spend such an extended time with her or my family, so it was time well spent & we cherished every minute of it!

The weekend we came back to Virginia also happened to be the weekend Brian & Debbie were in Baltimore.  My Aunt Lisa & cousin Maureen were also in Maryland visiting friends.  We all met at the Inner Harbor for lunch.  It was a nice get together.

Mom & I got some quality shopping time in yesterday, while Andrew spent the afternoon with Landon.  It was much more enjoyable than the shopping excursion we went on, on Friday.  We tried going Friday with Landon while Andrew was a work, but that didn't go so well.  Landon threw a tantrum for 3 hours!  It was a straight 3 hours, there were moments of good behavior, but for the most part, he was poorly behaved.  I think both mom & I were worn out.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Grandma today.  I'm going to miss her company & help! Thanks so much for spending some of your last bit of summer vacation with us here in VA!  We miss you already!

More in Florida

I guess it's about time to catch you up on the what we've been up to lately while in Florida. Sadly, Andrew left us on Sunday to head back to the "real" world, aka...work! We had two days to make the most of our time together as a family.

On Friday we headed to the Hands on Children's Museum. For those of you who have kids that visit Jacksonville & need a place to take the kids every so often to get out of the house, this is a great place to do so! It's located near the intersection of Southside & Beach Blvd. I had seen it many times when I lived here, but had no reason to ever check it out. We decided it was worth it to check it out at least once. It is definitely a place to go when we come in town. Landon had a blast!

It's not very big, so it's easy to keep an eye on your child, or children. Once we walked in, Landon headed straight for the trains.

Then he spotted the basketball cage, so we had to go there...a few times!

He also played hero as a Florida Highway Patrolman and a firefighter!

We stopped by the imagination area & played with the dinosaurs. There is also a dress up theatre & puppet show stage there.

We made a stop at cafe Landon for some homemade food! Yummy!

there's also a toddler room with a door in the building. We definitely made a stop there to get a break from all the excitement. You should check it out if you are ever in town.

Saturday we went to a diaper party for friends of ours. The expecting couple is pictured below. The mommy-to-be is obviously in the pink & the daddy-to-be is in the black shirt, who also was one of Andrew's college roommates. The other guys are HS and college friends of Andrew's. It was great to catch up with friends we hadn't seen in awhile.

We spent the afternoon eating, drinking, & playing games.

We were really excited to bring Landon along with us so our friends could meet him! He wanted to play volleyball with the big people but settled for the great playground at South Beach Park!

We had a great time & wish the parents-to-be all the best! The next day we said good-bye to Daddy.

Monday I caught up with one of my best friends. Luckily Landon was pretty well behaved so we could spend the afternoon catching up. Of course we didn't get a picture together, but I did manage a picture of Landon, minus hi shorts, playing with one of her wii guitars!

We laid pretty low until today. We met up with my brother Sean, his girlfriend KC, & her two kids, Kinley & Chance. We decided to show them the Children's Museum since they are up here quite often.

The kids had a wonderful time playing together. We spent alot of time in the toddler room. With 3 kids wanting to do 3 different things, this made it easy to keep an eye on them, plus it was quite crowded when we got there.

Kinley & Chance were all about the pool of balls. Landon wanted nothing to do with it. Since there were no kids in the pool, except K & C, we threw him in. Just as soon as we got him in, he was on his way out!

The kids worked up quite an appetite after playing and playing and playing. We headed to Chick-fil-A for a fun lunch! We had a great time & plan to see them a few more times before we leave.

Landon & I headed home. Unfortunately, we got home before my mom and we locked out of the house. Luckily it wasn't for too long. Landon & I spent some quality time together rocking on the front porch.

It was quite a day! Landon only napped for about 30 minutes, but was in a great mood for the rest of the afternoon. He even went to bed an hour early!

"Panes" & "Boppers"

Well, to add to our bedtime troubles, we are on another vacation (we gonna try & keep it up as best we can while on vacation). The three of us made the 11 hr (we made it in 10) to Jacksonville yesterday. Landon was rarin' to go once he saw the truck packed for our departure. He probably would have stayed back there if he could have.

Sadly, Andrew will be leaving us early Sunday morning. Landon & I will be here for another week & a half. My mom is gracious enough to make another long drive this summer with Landon & I back home. She already made the super long drive, all by herself to Ohio, & then to Leland.

I'm holding off on all my personal plans for after Sunday. That way Andrew isn't being dragged all over to catch up with my friends. Today we had the bright idea of heading to NAS Jax, for a picnic (of sorts) and to view the planes & helicopters, or "panes" & "boppers" as Landon likes to call them.

Our picnic consisted of subs from Publix & chicken tenders for Landon. Not quite the picnic prepared at home & placed neatly in a basket, but it works for us. If you know Andrew, you know that he loves his Publix subs, especially his chicken tender sub. I'm sure he'll have a few more before he heads out on Sunday. It wasn't an especially nice day for a picnic either. It poured on the drive over to the base, but stopped for a few minutes. Just long enough for us to get out of the car & make our way to the gazebo. Then it poured again. Luckily it cleared not too long after finishing our lunch to go see the "panes" & "boppers."

We first stopped by the "bopper" that both Papa Frosty & Grandpa Peck flew while they were in the Navy. Landon wasn't so sure of this giant machine when it was on the ground. I think he prefers to see them in the sky.

We walked around the park to look at all the "panes."

I don't think he was as interested in them since they weren't doing this..

Landon's version of a "pane" flying in the air.

Finally as we were getting ready to leave, as it began to rain again, we were able to see some in action, flying through the air.

Bedtime Blues

If your friends, family, or have seen my Facebook status (at times), then you know we've been having the bedtime blues. It's not just Landon who is suffering, but Andrew & I too.

For those of you who don't know about our troubles, I'll fill you in. Landon has always been a great sleeper. Up until around May (when he was bit), Landon would go to bed no problem around 7-7:30. He would maybe cry for a bit, but nothing major. Also, Landon has been great if he is up later than usual, or doesn't have access to his bed. We have never had huge problems with getting him to sleep

We noticed that we were starting to have the beginnings of trouble when we went on vacation to Williamsburg & Va Beach. He would scream & scream, plus he started attempting to crawl out of the pack-n-play. HE slept with us most of the trip, but quickly got back on schedule when we returned home. When he got bit by Jaxson, we made the mistake of letting Landon sleep with us, again. This time is was partly due to keeping an eye on the cuts, but also due to the fact that we felt so bad for him. His sleeping routine did not recover after this. We've been making due until the summer. Some days were great and others not so much.

Our trip to Leland added more problems. Landon could completely climb out of the pack-n-play & his nightly routine did not exist. Since it's light out there until 9:30, family functions would start late & end late. Once again, he was sleeping with us. It wasn't such a big deal but I knew we were in for some tough nights when we got back to Va, at least he would stay in his crib at home...yeah right???!!!

Upon our return home, Landon became extremely brave & catapulted himself out of his crib! This was no good & just added to our bedtime problems. Andrew & I first started shutting the door to a crack. We knew he would make his way out but I knew if we kept taking him back without a word he would get it. He did, for the most part, but we figured it would be best for everyone if we shut the door. He was not happy at all about either situations & let us know by leaving his room like this.
I know this doesn't look bad, but I didn't picture the fan knocked over, the baskets emptied from the changing table, or his hamper & clothes on the floor. When we would go check on him, we were hoping to find this...

but more often than not he was like this when we would check on him. Asleep at his door. Landon would be so close that we couldn't even open the door!!!! I had to squeeze my arm & camera to take this picture & hope that I got it!

We have made some progress. Landon stays in his room & eventually falls asleep, but we still have alot of work to do. We are trying to get a good bedtime routine down so that he is aware that bedtime is coming & trying to slowly reduce the crying time. Since I am home with him in the afternoons, I'm also trying to establish a good nap time. We have alot of work ahead of us, but it'll come...won't it????

3rd & 4th of July

We celebrated the 4th on the 3rd & 4th this year. Andrew's sister, Mindy & her boyfriend, Michael came up for the weekend to celebrate with the family.


On the 3rd we all headed down to the National Harbor. It's brand new to the area & located on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. Andrew & I have been wanting to get over there for some time now, so this was great. The area is filled with hotels, restaurants, & shopping. The National Children's Museum is also making it's way over to the Harbor.

There's two ways to get to the National Harbor. You can drive, which we did, or you can take the river taxi, which Andrew's parents, Mindy, & Michael did. The river taxi would have been fun & Landon would have enjoyed the ride over, but not at 11 o'clock at night. We may have to try it another time.
Once we were there we went to eat at the restaurant, Ketchup, it an upscale twist on American classics. Not too bad, but the service was a little slow. Also, Landon was in quite a mood at dinner, so I think that also put a damper on the experience. Nothing like taking a moody 21 month to a nice restaurant...huh???

After dinner we headed to the event area. This is the first year that the National Harbor was hosting a 4th of July event, & they had an area sectioned off for ticket holders. Andrew's parents graciously bought all of us tickets for the event. This allowed up up close seating for the fireworks and access to the children's area. There were also bands, food, & drinks.
We planted ourselves right on the water. Landon loves to watch the boats & planes, but that only kept him busy for a short bit. Andrew decided to take him on the train ride while I manned the seating section.
He loved saying "hello" to all his fans! I also took him for a ride but Andrew somehow messed up the pictures. I guess you can figure why there are many more pictures of Andrew & Landon than Landon & I...oh well.


Once we were done with the children's area, we got ready for the fireworks. Luckily, while we were waiting for ours to go off, there was another show across the River. Landon enjoyed those since there was no noise.


It was a beautiful night, no humidity, cool, but pretty windy. Can you tell by Landon's hair. The wind combined with the barge not being too far from the river bank, caused us to be hit with pieces of the fireworks. We all enjoyed the fireworks being so close, though Landon could have done without the "boom-boom".




On the 4th, we spent the day with Andrew's family before heading out to a cookout with friends. Since we were out late on the 3rd, it was nice to keep it low-key & get home at a somewhat decent hour.


We spent the evening eating...Landon loved his bar-b-que chicken. I couldn't believe how much he ate!!!! Somedays he's a great eater & then other days I feel like I'm starving him because he doesn't eat. Anyways, he loved eating at the big kid table instead of the high chair, which he initially went to when I got his food ready.
Then we set off fireworks for the kids to enjoy. All stayed on the ground, but were alot of fun to watch!
Landon liked them until they would screech & scream. I just happened to get this great picture that captured Landon's reaction to the loud fireworks!!! He wasn't much of a fan. He would run to any adult that he was near, and most of the time it wasn't us.

All in all, we had a wonderful weekend celebrating the 4th! We hope you all did too!

Tuesday & Wednesday

This week is the first week Landon & I have been home alone together this summer, & it's been quite an adjustment.  I think for both of us!  Don't get me wrong, I love spending my days with Landon, it's just that we're also working on getting him on a better sleeping routine (more on that later).  

Since we're working on a better schedule, Landon & I have been sticking close to home, which makes for a stir crazy momma!  Luckily we only had 2 days of that (Mon. & Tues.).  Once Wed. hit, our social gatherings picked up, along with having Daddy around the house.  

Monday, Landon & I played "catch up" around the house. He played, ate, & slept while I cleaned, unpacked,  did laundry, & organized a few things.  Tuesday we got out and washed the truck.  Landon was only interested in washing the truck when I didn't have the hose.  he was afraid I would spray him, which I may have slightly done in good fun!!!!

Once the water was turned off, Landon quickly became interested in his next favorite thing, the neighbor's front yard.  They weren't home, so I didn't mind so much until he started picking at her plants after he tried making friends with the little stone boy.  Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but for some reason I get the feeling that she knows exactly how many leaves are on each bush & if there's one missing, she might call the cops on us (it wouldn't be the first!!)!
Wednesday was a bot more eventful.  Andrew had a half day due to his work picnic.   It wasn't much a picnic but more of a mini carnival.  There was music, a water slide, cotton candy machine, snow cone machine, dunk tank, & sumo wrestling suits for adults & children to enjoy.Landon had no interest in the food or games.  He went straight to the swings & soccer ball for some classic fun!

It was a great time filled with food & fun!